Aug 6 (Reuters) - FC Barcelona President Joan Laporta said on Friday the club had no choice but to part ways with Lionel Messi here, who has been with the team for all of his playing career, as keeping him could jeopardise the club's already precarious financial situation.
* CURRENT CONTRACT
Leaked details of Messi’s last four-year contract published in Spanish newspaper El Mundo in January said it was worth a total of 555 million euros ($655 million), thought to make it the most lucrative in world sport.
Barcelona, heavily in debt after the coronavirus pandemic forced clubs to play behind closed doors, have not confirmed that figure.
* NEW DEAL
Messi, now 34, wanted to sign a new contract at Barcelona on reduced terms, but the club had been unable to come up with an arrangement that also complied with the financial rules of Spain’s La Liga competition.
Laporta said the club had lined up two new deals with Messi, firstly a two-year deal made payable over five years, and then a separate five-year deal, but neither had fitted with La Liga’s criteria.
* CAN ANYONE AFFORD MESSI?
The Argentinian has been linked with moves to two of the richest clubs in European soccer - English Premier League champions Manchester City, owned by Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Qatari-backed Paris St Germain.
Messi would come without a transfer fee as he is out of contract, but his wage demands could be prohibitive for City who have just spent 100 million pounds ($139 million) on England midfielder Jack Grealish.
Sports website The Athletic reported on Friday that PSG believed that they could make the sums add up given the extra commercial and TV revenue that Messi would bring to the club and French soccer in general.
* BRAND VALUE
Messi has vied with Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo to be the global face of world soccer over the past decade.
Forbes reported in May that Messi, who has contracts with companies including Adidas, had earned $130 million over the past year - $10 million more than Ronaldo, who plays for Italian club Juventus. ($1 = 0.8468 euros, 0.7188 pounds)
Compiled by Keith Weir; Editing by Hugh Lawson

Source: Reuters

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